Free me
by Sheep the Adventurer
Summary: In the aftermath, all that is left is memories as the Girl finally grows up. But the King does not forget.
1. Free Me

**Free me**

_I ask you only one question – Can you save me?_

She grew up. It had to happen eventually. It was time, to sink or to swim. To carry on believing in everything and nothing, or to let herself be carried away by the current of everyone else. And so, she moved on. She made her choice.

The extraordinary girl, who had fought for and won back her brother, gone to the castle beyond the goblin city and broken the heart of a king, became very much part of a very much ordinary world.

Days passed and the vivid paints swirled into grey. The fire dimmed.

He came first in the mirror while she washed her hands, a reflection that wasn't quite hers.

_Are you happy?_

He mouthed the words, she stared back and something stirred inside. He faded with a smile as a someone burst into the toilets. The spell was broken. She left the room and ignored the regrets that drifted in her wake.

The next time, his hand on hers as she opened her door, a shadow over he shoulder as she walked in. A touch on her shoulder.

_Are you happy?_

Whirling round to an empty room, she slept that night with the lights on.

Stepping on a grey pavement, weaving through the faceless crowd drained of emotion. The princess had lost her heart in a bittersweet love story.

Tired eyes in her reflection show the sleepless nights filled with restless dreams.

She questioned herself, as the water drained down the sink.

_Am I happy?_

Drving through the rain, the soaked darkness falling in drops as heavy as tears. The yellow headlights reflect the scarlet red of the vanishing fox that disappears from her path.

The memories of something less than real return like lost friends, jewels shining in the halflight, the trust in the eyes of a monster, the strength of the small, and the final chime of the clock. The sweet taste of temptation in a twirling dance of charm and splendour.

It wasn't real, but was reality enough?

She carried on, walking through life still asking the same question.

_Am I happy?_

Meanwhile, he came, in snatches of moments to remind her of the pictures stored away, of toys in the attic, of a childhood she had left behind. He was the song on the radio, the deep sad summer nights and the longing in her heart.

_Are you happy?_

She answered, finally, one night when he sat quietly across the bedroom in a chair lit by the silent light from the hazy streetlights.

She lifted her head from her hands, to stare at him.

"No." she wonderingly "I suppose I'm not."

Then he smiled and stood. He casually wandered over to her and threaded his gloved fingers in her hair.

"Then you know what to do."

The clock struck thirteen.

"…I wish……"

* * *

This is kind of more serious than I'm used to...It happened in a dramatic mood...

...And perhaps slightly unhinged mood also. Its meant to be surreal, I suppose. And the main characters are Jareth and Sarah, in case its really not obvious...Most likely a one shot.

However, still want reviews!


	2. This is the Place

A/N This is NOT a continuation of the last chapter, rather another stand alone one shot. However, as it is similar to Free Me, I thought I might as well post it here.

**This **Is** The **Place

_She is young_.

He watches as she dances along the gossamer-thin threads of half forgotten memories. She is beautiful in her joy, her dark hair sways around her as she twirls and twirls.

He strides forwards, and takes her in his arms. She stops, and looks at him. She looks, and around them a half formed ballroom materialises. Silver cobwebs hang from the ceiling and a fine layer of dust swirls around their feet as they stand together. She wears the dress, but it is old, faded. Around them gather the ghosts of masqueraders behind their masks. She smiles, her gaze only on him, as the only part of her that remembers.

They start to dance, slowly, as sadness is heavy. She cries silently, tears falling down her cheeks, not knowing why. He smiles, knowing exactly why, because he is eternal. They don't speak; somehow they know it is nothing in his forbidden place. He knows he shouldn't be there, but he is. He is there. He can't stop himself.

She dries her eyes, and smiles. He wishes that smile could be his alone, but touch is insubstantial in this place and with no goodbyes, she fades away as the clock strikes. She moves away to other dreams, for he is not her world.

He fades away too, because he knows he cannot keep her. Sometimes she does not dream of him at all.

_She is older_.

The dreams are different now. Rarer, and different. She embraces him, her lily white arms around him. She looks at him, her eyes dark, he watches her with a bittersweet smile._ I am yours_, is the unspoken whisper. But they both know it isn't true. There are no lies about love in this place.

He doesn't care. In a wish for oblivion, he drowns himself in her, as she does in him.

In different ways, he both loves and hates this change. She still fades away, as does he.

Idly, he wonders where the power lies now, as he runs his palm down her back.

_She is older_.

He still comes to her dreams. He can't stop. He watches, and sees her dream of another. Those dreams are both innocent and not, for she is in love. She is not in love with him, but another. She walks with this other,her eyes only on this other. In the background of these dreams, his eyes darken and pale with both agony and fury. But it is hopeless, there is nothing he can do, even if he wanted, for he is forgotten. But he remembers.

She still comes to him sometimes. He wonders at his fascination with her. She pauses sometimes in her dreams, she looks at him, she feels she should know him. There is some part of her that remembers, but it is not enough to make her stay.

_She is older_.

She is blooming, lovelier than ever. She smiles, and it lights her dreams. Pink blossoms fall, in her spring dreams. He comes closer, and she beckons him her face alight with serene happiness, one hand rests on her stomach where new life grows. He does not frown, he only smiles and turns away, knowing he will not return.

She grows, and then she begins to age. She lives her life, as people do. He is eternal, for those who do not die, do not live. He thinks, for the first time in forever, what maybe could have been. What if, he wonders. This does not last long, he knows it is useless.

She has a family, she grows old with laughter lines in her face. He does not watch, and tries to forget.

_She is old_.

Finally, one night, she dreams of him again, one last time. She is young again, in a white dress. Around them, autumn leaves glide to the ground. She holds out her hand, and he takes it. She speaks, her voice not sound. _Thank you_, she says.

He inclines his head slowly, the onlybow he'll ever make, as he quietly accepts. She moves closer, and he holds her hand to his heart. They stand together.Her scent surrounds him, and she kisses him gently.

Then she moves on, and he accepts.

* * *

Review please:) 


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